Thread: NEWBIE QUESTION..

Water Temp 60*/68* . welcome to crappie.com from Rockwell nc.

Welcome from Liberty

Generally depends on water temperature. Down here near Wilmington they're close to being on the beds right now. Another week or two and they'll be full on spawning. Had we not had those cold fronts come through they'd be spawning already. In the Piedmont it's usually closer to mid or even late March before they move up on the beds. Farther up north they spawn into May. So there's really no short answer. I usually start looking shallow when the water temp breaks the 60 degree mark. If you fish every week it's pretty easy to figure it out because you'll catch them staging for a few weeks then you'll notice you're getting fewer and fewer bites at the depth you've been catching them in. So... depending on your location you may want to start thinking shallow in the coming days, or it may be a while longer.

Brian - Wilmington, NC

thanks everyone! i live in western NC, in the mountains, the lakes i general fish is LAke James, and Lake rhodhiss! if im looking for 60+ degree water, ill prob be waiting late april, early may.

Don't wait too long- the big ones go early---52* and up, they will be moving in.

You can always catch some nice ones real early shallow on the upper end around the moose. I've caught fish on James full of eggs at the later part of May and caught em this time of year in 5fow in brush. Seems like its always slightly different year to year.

Originally Posted by chief

Don't wait too long- the big ones go early---52* and up, they will be moving in.

Chief's dead on. Over the years we waited until the Dogwood's bloomed, water temp was up in the mid to upper 60s, etc... what changed that for me was when I started fishing tournaments on places I hadn't been to much. When I went to the weigh in and realized those guys had killed the slabs in the shallow water ( water temps was in the upper 50s) that started to make a believer out of me.

Each body of water could be slightly different but I've caught fish in New Bern this year, in less than 8' water since the early part of fall. IMO, as long as whatever the primary food source is for the crappie on your homebody doesn't move very far, they're not either.

One last thing I'll add. Most of us had the misconception that crappie would be deep in the summer, much like the dead part of winter in the lakes here. But after finding out and learning more about the thermocline, we realize fish are not going to the bottom for extended periods of time in the summer. The fish are going to suspend, most generally the 50% rule should put you in the ballpark. ex 10' deep in 20' water.

The tidal rivers differ a good bit on the summer patters though, and are definitely a little more trickier to figure out. That's one reason it's not as popular down here, we got just as many fish, but at times they're much harder to catch. The water in certain areas of Black River and New River(Jacksonville) was running so hard last weekend( even a lot of current in the coves), it was compatible to a mountain stream and difficult to fish.